@igbodiaries: Ọsọ Abiola, was the mass exodus of Ndi Igbo in June 1993, from different parts of the country to their states of origin. The violence that erupted after the annulment of the June 12th 1993 elections led to Igbo people in Lagos and all other parts of the country fleeing to their region en masse. This was because the Ibrahim Babangida led military government refused to announce the result of the elections conducted that year between MKO Abiola and Tofa Bashir. It was clear to everyone that Abiola won that election and It was supposed to be a transition from military to civilian rule. This led to a massive protest that was led by the late Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti and Barr. Femi Falana demanding for the release of the results and violence erupted. The Igbo people in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria had learnt from the progroms of 1966 when they were slaughtered in cities all over Nigeria after the counter-coup of July 1966 which led to the civil war. They didn’t wait for the Yorubas to declare war on the North before they began their migration back home, because they would still be blamed somehow. So, they decided to take caution like we say “prevention is better than cure”. Most vehicles conveying Ndi Igbo home did so free of charge. Buses would bring people from Lagos and drop them at Upper Iweka in a bid to return to Lagos the same day, to evacuate as many people as possible. Sometimes they didn’t even make it to Upper Iweka, they stopped at Asaba, and this went on for weeks, Thousands of Ndigbo ran for their dear lives. That was the most sensible thing to do after witnessing the civil war and the anti-Igbo progrom in 1966. This was what birthed the name “Oso Abiola” Many Igbo businesses were lost in the sad event, some properties were seized in the process by the host states, while some was auctioned out of fear of losing them. Like the Nigeria-Biafra war, Ọsọ Abiola really dampened the spirit of Ndi Igbo. June 12th has since been made Democracy day in Nigeria. Do you remember this? Please share your ọsọ Abiola experience, share on your stories and tag your friends to read. Have you heard about #OsoAbiola before? #igbo #igboamaka #igbotiktok #fyp

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Friday 12 June 2026 06:34:10 GMT